Best Food Court Miami 2007 - Aventura Mall

A food court is a food court is a food court. All malls follow the same basic template  cookies, cr?pes, and ice cream at the outskirts; Chinese and Japanese counters serving teriyaki and handing out chicken on toothpicks; some kind of baked potato place; and insert your random ethnic-lite option here. The seating area is guaranteed to be crowded on a weekend afternoon, and the grub is overpriced and served fast. So what makes Aventura's better than any other blueprint eatery zoneç Variety and beer.In addition to the expected Häagen-Dazs, Cr?pemaker, and Mrs. Fields Cookies at the court's opening, there's Teavana. A tea lover encountering it for the first time is likely to weep tears of joy that such a wonderful establishment even exists. Sip a free sample of Jasmine Pearls/Rooibos Tropicos blend and ponder the menu. Dudes with big appetites can nosh on Charlie's Grilled Subs  a large cheese steak and steak fries will set you back a Hamilton. Little ones intent on "pasghetti" can get lunch at Che Pasta. Pasha's is coming soon, and it'll be sandwiched between the sample-happy Asian Chao and Shrimp Market. Healthy options are available at an adorable homestyle Chicken Grill (replete with wood kitchen cupboards), and Paradise Café, where a ginormous salad costs $8.59. But the prize is Tropical Express, a Cuban joint that offers an authentic alternative to the traditional "ethnic lite" option. Besides Cuban sandwiches, churrasco served with maduros, and frijoles negros y arroz blanco, they've got coladas and cortaditos for a buck fifty. Plus, miserable shopped-out husbands can drown their sorrows with domestic beers for $3.20 and imports for $3.60.